CLOSE TO HOME

CLOSE TO HOME

Produced by Vanessa Roth and Alexandra Dickson

Discovery Health Channel

Today, 5 to 7 p.m.;

repeats from 8 to 10 p.m.

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Overview: “Close to Home” premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, but the current child-sexual-abuse scandal embroiling the Catholic Church should heighten interest in this sobering documentary. The program includes personal accounts of child sex abuse, including the story of former professional hockey player Sheldon Kennedy, who was abused during his teenage years by his hockey coach.

What Works: The program drives home the point that children usually know and trust their abusers. Children, however, are reluctant to tell anyone about the abuse, a practice that must change if child sexual abuse is to be reduced. And given how abuse often occurs “close to home,” the documentary should give parents and anyone who works with children a reason to ask themselves whether they are doing everything possible to protect kids.

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--Shari Roan